two strong hands that God has given him, a heart willing to labor, and a freedom to choose the mode of his work, and the manner of his employer; he has no soil nor shop, and he avails himself of the opportunity of hiring himself to some man who has capital to pay him a fair day's wages for a fair day's work. He is benefited by availing himself of that privilege; he works industriously, he behaves soberly, and the result of a year or two's labor is a surplus of capital. Now he buys land on his own hook; he settles, marries, begets sons and daughters; and, in course of time, he, too, has enough capital to hire some new beginner."

This homely and characteristic speech was truthful, like the man who uttered it when on the eve of nomination to the highest office in the gift of the nation; and at that same time he expressed his opinion in regard to free labor, in the same straightforward, though rather inelegant manner. His words may as well be quoted here. They were these: "Our Government was not estab lished that one man might do with himself as he pleases, and with another man too. . . . I say, that, whereas God Almighty has given every man one mouth to be fed, -and one pair of hands adapted to furnish food for that mouth, if any thing can be proved to be the will of Heaven, it is proved by this fact, that that mouth is to be fed by those hands, without being interfered with by any other man, who has also his mouth to feed and his hands to labor with. I hold, if the Almighty had ever made a set of men that should do all the eating and none of the work, he would have made them with mouths only, and no hands; and if he had ever made another class that he had intended should do all the work, and none of the eating, he would have made them without mouths, and with all hands,"

As a hired laborer, young Lincoln spent the summer and fall with a Mr. Armstrong, who observed his studious habits, and proposed to his wife to keep the youthful student through the winter. He insisted on laboring for Mr. Armstrong enough to pay his board, and spent the rest of his time in study.

Early the next spring, as before stated, he assisted in building a boat at Sangamon, and then made a trip to New Orleans, which was so successful, that his employer, gratified with the industry and tact young Lincoln exhibited, engaged him to take charge of his mill and store in the village of New Salem. Thus Mr. Lincoln, having already been prepared to sympathize with the mechanic, came to have a near relation also to the merchant, that he could understand in after-life the trials and preplexities of that class among the men he was called to govern.

The young man who spent his leisure moments, amid the distractions of mercantile life, in studying grammar and arithmetic, may well be supposed to feel an interest in public events transpiring in his native land.

Early in the year 1832 the Black-Hawk War commenced, and the Governor of Illinois called for volunteer troops. Young Lincoln, with patriotic ardor, was the first to place his name on the roll at the recruiting-office in New Salem. A company was soon raised there; and such was the confidence of his fellow-townsmen and comradesin-arms, that they unanimously chose him to be their captain, an office which he reluctantly accepted, having a modest doubt of his own ability to serve in that capacity.

"The New-Salem company went into camp at Beardstown, from whence, in a few days, they marched to the expected scene of conflict. When the thirty days of their enlistment had expired, however, they had not seen the enemy. They were disbanded at Ottawa, and most of

the volunteers returned; but, a new levy being called for, Abraham re-enlisted as a private. Another thirty days expired, and the war was not over. His regiment was disbanded, and again, the third time, he volunteered. He was determined to serve his country as long as the war lasted. Before the third term of his enlistment had expired, the battle of Bad Axe was fought, which put an end to the war.

"He returned home. 'Having lost his horse, near where the town of Janesville, Wisconsin, now stands, he went down Rock River to Dixon in a canoe; thence he crossed the country on foot to Peoria, where he again took canoe to a point on the Illinois River, within forty miles of home. The latter distance he accomplished on foot.'

"One who served under him in the New-Salem company writes, that he was a universal favorite in the army; that he was an efficient, faithful officer, watchful of his men, and prompt in the discharge of duty; and that his courage and patriotism shrank from no dangers or hardships."*

Thus by personal participation in military duties the future Commander-in-Chief was preparing for his coming responsibilities; and this preparation was such as to make him truly sympathize with privates as well as officers, and to be just to both.

He returned to New Salem and to business when no longer needed as a soldier. The author of the "Lincoln Memorial" says, in speaking of Mr. Lincoln as a clerk and manager, "He soon made his mark: an attempt of a gang of the bullies of the place to give him a beating resulted in the defeat of their champion by the tall sinewy stranger, who at once became a favorite with

"The Pioneer Boy," p. 252.

those who gauged men by their physical endurance and courage; while his affable manners, his unfailing cheerful ness, his ready wit, and his stories, made him a favorite with all. A store was soon his own; but he was too honest and too kind-hearted to drive sharp bargains, and soon found himself in difficulties which it required years of subsequent struggle to clear away, but which he allowed to stand no longer than till he had ability to discharge them. Honest Abraham Lincoln knew no bankrupt's discharge, but a receipt in full on payment in full.”

Another noticeable fact in Mr. Lincoln's history is thus mentioned by the same writer: "The office of postmaster of New Salem, a petty office indeed, was his first public position, and one which gave him intense pleasure from the opportunity of reading it afforded him; and it is not a little remarkable that he began life, we may say, by serving the General Government in a civil, and soon after in a military capacity."

The writer of the "Lincoln Memorial" thinks that the fact of Lincoln's captaincy was significant, and almost symbolical. "This early choice," he says, "of one who was at most a clerk and hand in a country store, shows how clearly his fellow-citizens had recognized him as one born to be a ruler of men. At the next election for members of the legislature, he was taken up as the candidate of his district, and so completely united the votes of all parties in his precinct, that he received every vote but seven out of two hundred and eighty-four; and though he was defeated in the district at large, it was the only occasion in which he failed in such an election."

While acting as postmaster, Mr. Lincoln continued his studies, and improved his increased opportunities for extensive reading. He is said to have written out a synopsis of every book he read, and thus to have fixed the contents in his memory.

About this time, John Calhoun, afterwards President of the Lecompton Constitutional Convention, and prominent in the troubles in Kansas, came to New Salem. He soon formed the acquaintance of the best conversationist in the place, and advised him to learn surveying, — the work in which he himself was engaged. Mr. Lincoln did so, and soon obtained employment as a surveyor, thus unconsciously imitating him whose place as the head of a great nation he was afterwards to occupy. Little thought Washington or Lincoln, as they drove their stakes or stretched their chains over their neighbors' lands "for a consideration," that they should one day, so to speak, drive the stakes of their tent in the Capitol of the nation, and stretch the chain of their influence over the whole broad country. But God "putteth down one, and setteth up another;" and he upon whose brow God has ordained a crown should rest will surely wear it in the fulness of time, though he may have been born in a hovel or a manger.

Difficulties beset the path of the future President. He had not the never-empty purse of Fortunatus, nor the power of the Phrygian king to turn every thing he touched to gold; and therefore he often found himself embarrassed in financial matters; and at one time, it is said, even his instruments used in surveying were actu ally seized for debt.

"He still took an active part in politics; and in August, 1834, he was elected to the legislature by a large majority. In this new field he learned much. He was a persistent student, and had already, by close applica tion, made up for much of the deficiency of his early education. He analyzed all he read, and gave up nothing till he had thoroughly mastered it. This gave him a correctness and precision of thought which never